In the end she had little choice but to recognize defeat, by less than a quarter of a percentage point.

The race opened old wounds dating back to the 1990s, when Fujimori’s father Alberto was president.

Now serving a 25-year prison sentence for massacres by an army death squad, Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) is fondly remembered by some Peruvians for his populist streak, his ruthless crack-down on the leftist rebel group Shining Path and his management of a strong economy.

But his authoritarian legacy was also heavy baggage for his daughter.

Her 78-year-old father’s supporters are now pressuring Kuczynski to pardon him.

The president-elect has said he is willing to sign a law granting house arrest to elderly and ailing prisoners such as Fujimori, but will not issue a pardon.

– ‘El Gringo’ –

Kuczynski, the son of a Jewish doctor from Germany, has had a long career in business and finance.

Educated at Oxford University and Princeton, he has an impressive resume including stints as economy minister and a World Bank economist.

He speaks Spanish with an American accent, betraying his long years in the United States. Some Peruvians call him “El Gringo.”

Seeking to lighten the baggage of his outsider status, he donned a traditional multicolored woolly hat at campaign rallies, played the flute and trotted out his mascot, a man-sized guinea pig — a symbol of Peru.

Since winning the election, he has promised to bring a “social revolution” to Peru by extending basic services such as schools, hospitals and drinking water to the one-third of Peruvians who lack them.

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